There are concerts and then there are experiences. Last night was nothing short of a once in a lifetime experience.

When Prince died, time in Minneapolis seemed to come to a stand still. I cancelled all of my plans and headed downtown to celebrate the life of this amazing musician and man. It was night after night of all-night dance parties and purple pancakes. As devastating as his death was, being able to be at ground zero for everything that happened was truly a series of events that I will never forget.

Although it’s next to impossible to put last night into words, I can tell you that having a chance to be a Prince’s Official Tribute show just a couple months after his death was another event that I will never, ever, forget.

I mean, honestly, I saw Chaka Khan join Stevie Wonder on stage. Do I need to say more?

I could go on and on about the multiple times I found myself in the same room as Prince. Whether it was just at a show in a local venue of an up and coming artist or at Paisley Park for a pancake party, you always felt his presence and it was comforting in a way. Of course, the few times I was at the same show as Prince, I couldn’t just go up and talk to him but there was this aura that he gave off. It didn’t feel like he was this superstar who was better than everyone else, it felt like he was just another guy in the crowd. Even though he is dead and gone, his aura was more than alive and well last night.

The stage was occupied by musical legends and up and comers throughout the night. Prince’s friends and family graced the stage multiple times and everyone had something extremely touching to say. I think the most touching was what Stevie Wonder said. “I’m just trying to keep it together right now.” I don’t think there was a dry eye in the venue after that statement. Here he was, the legendary Stevie Wonder, being so deeply affected by the death of this legend that we, here in the Twin Cities, would call our neighbor.

There were tears, hugs, smiles, laughter, legends, up and comers, dancers, singers, beat boxers… there was a little bit of everything on the stage last night and I’m pretty sure that’s exactly how Prince would have wanted it.

The night ended beautifully with purple rain (confetti) falling from the sky (ceiling). You could hear Prince’s voice sing Purple Rain coming through the speakers as the live band played behind it. The stage was filled with almost everyone who had taken part in the nearly five hour long concert. The sight was breathtaking to say the least.

The final thing I heard before leaving was Prince’s voice saying “I Love You” over the speakers. There are no words to describe that single moment of the night. Absolutely no words.

The papers all say that Prince died nearly six months ago…

Legends never die.

Prince Forever.